online safety and digital citizenship specialist

Social media harms overstated as study finds impact is 'trivial' on teens' well-being

07 May 2019

Fears than being hooked on social media is creating a generation of depressed and anxious teenagers have been overstated, according to a study which found it has a "trivial" effect on life satisfaction.

Ministers and parent groups have raised the alarm about excessive time spent on sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

But University of Oxford researchers found little evidence to support it making heavy users less content.